Family Matters: Baby boom, evil twins, and one bad mother

How momentous is Nicole's pregnancy? Who is the father? And if she does carry to term, will Super Dr. Evans be the one to deliver the baby?

Considering the pace at which most storylines are told (Remember the year-plus we dealt with the devil?), Nicole's pregnancy is moving through plot points at lightning speed. Just last week alone, E.J. found out she slept with Eric. Nicole found out she's pregnant. Both Kayla and Anna know Nicole is pregnant and that she doesn't know who the father is. And Nicole scheduled a paternity test. There's so much good stuff to digest here. We need to take a minute.

First, the fact that Nicole can't carry her own children has been a core element to her character for decades. I can still vividly remember the scene in the hospital after Nicole was shot where she learned the news. A close second is the miscarriage scene with Brady in the clinic. The fact that she's even pregnant at all is huge.

Second, come on, this must be Eric's child. It's cute that we're even entertaining that E.J. needs another kid when he has one whole one he never mentions. (Not that Nicole is a ton better here, but at least she pretends Holly is in town.) The DiMeras have enough heirs. I'm getting nervous about the Bradys. Plus, the show just teased a storyline where Eric had a child. Doing it again to him just seems like the treatment they usually reserve for Tripp.

Finally, gah, it's Eric and Nicole! They've been together for decades. Their first marriage was a bit of a letdown, since Eric left town right after. As Marlena pointed out, there was nothing in those biscuits that would increase libido. So, these kids were acting out their true intentions.

Speaking of true intentions, I've got my Team Jada foam finger and flag ready. When she showed up at Colin's door, I cheered "Ohhhhh...yes!! Get him, Jada! Get. Him." Jada's got his number, which unfortunately puts Talia in even more danger. Colin is an unhinged abuser who seems to only be in town to make his twin sister not look as bad. (Anyone else catch Sloan saying "we were five" to him?)

There are a few things that bum me out a bit here. While Aketra Sevellian is doing masterful work as Talia, that character is hard to watch. She's either being groomed and then abused by her manipulative boyfriend, or she's responsible for hurting my precious Chanel. Talia's tale of falling in love late in life and not having the romantic experience to go along with her life years made sense. And her admission that he's no good for her and that she doesn't like who she is when she's around him was a step in the right direction. But it's still not enjoyable to witness. I've spent time screaming at the TV for Talia to open up to Jada. And when Steve gets back from Greece, I wouldn't object to him checking in on Marcus' kid here, either.

Additionally, Sloan doesn't need rehabilitation. Leave her bad. She's certainly a great foil for characters like Belle. She had great chemistry with fellow baddie Li. DAYS hasn't had a good love-to-hate character in a long time. Sloan's it right now! Don't mess up a good...err...bad thing, DAYS!

E.J. being a normal human to Nicole just feels strange. I like him better with someone he knows he needs to keep up with. I'm sure it's to set him up to be steaming mad at Nicole for "lying" to him, but this is one case where I'm 100 percent on Nicole's side. She and E.J. just started dating. She's under no obligation to disclose anything about her body to him, especially not at this point. She's got a lot to figure out first.

I'm a big Million Dollar Listing fan and loved seeing Josh Flagg make a DAYS appearance! He did a bang-up job! Yuri was a colossal piece of work -- from the ego to the cocaine break. He actually made Alex look sympathetic, which is nothing short of a magic trick. Maggie dodged a bullet not having to work with this creep. But a newly unemployed Alex probably doesn't see it that way. (On his own show, Josh is very vocal about his love for his senior citizen friends. He was besties with his grandma! So, I had to giggle at Yuri throwing side-eye at the Golden Girls. Josh Flagg would never say that!)

Wendy has cast herself in her own version of The Bachelorette and her whole vibe is downright bananas. Both Tripp and Johnny are being exceptionally gracious with her while she makes pretty spectacular moves for the other. She didn't just crawl into a pint of ice cream when she thought Johnny left her -- she flew halfway across the country! And she cut her trip pretty short as soon as she talked with Johnny again. Her whole "you're still in the running" attitude has a time clock. But, sure, Wendy. Hand out those roses while you still have people accepting them.

Chloe and Xander are utterly charming. Their scenes bring a nice break to the show. There's nothing high stakes here, but they are charming to watch. I think Chloe was a bit dramatic for someone who is living for free and sleeping on a new mattress. But she and Xander should have outlined the terms of their agreement, since she did say she'd help out with the home management duties.

Dimitri from Beyond Salem tango fame has been holding Kate hostage. This is one villain I can get behind! He sort of reminds me of how E.J. used to be mixed with what the show always hoped Deimos would have been. Of course, he has a double. Of course, he drinks expensive wine. Of course, he has extremely strange taste in women's jewelry. (Look, I'm not mad at Kate. If I was offered a shower, food and a change out of those fish clothes, I'd have put on that lobster medal, too.) I'm excited to see what he's after. He feels classically soapy, and I'm interested to see what the other ask of his immunity deal will be.

HOT: "Here's to you, Dr. Marlena Evans. You are a true legend."

DAYS found a wonderful way to celebrate Deidre Hall's 5000th episode. I loved the grand flashbacks to Mickey and the simple toast from John at the pub. It was classy but not flashy. It was just like Marlena.

NOT: I'm still not sold on why we need Harris in Salem. He's off searching for Kate while Roman is sipping water in a hospital waiting area, and Andrew is...where?? I loved the dynamic between Chad's Scrappy Doo to Steve's Han Solo. I loved it even more that Chad was the one who saved the day!! But I just keep scratching my head as to why we need Harris. He feels like a light version of John "The Pawn" Black, and we've already got the original.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Jada (about Talia's lies and, ultimately, Colin): "Please let there be something that explains this all away!"

Don't look now, but Jada is absolutely killing it in every department. Brains, beauty, one-liners. Team Jada!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

The screen jump from Tripp saying he hopes Wendy gives him a chance to Colin abusing Talia was a stark contrast.

My best friend has Gabi's white boots. She's my best friend who introduced me to DAYS, so it feels full circle here.

Chanel and Johnny can't help but have chemistry.

I'm not sure you want to cast yourself as Rick to Wendy's Ilsa. Spoiler alert, Tripp, they don't end up together. She gets on that plane at the end of Casablanca!

I'm obsessed with Talia's princess hair. It's majestic.

Stefan looked great in his tan suit!

Was it strange that Marlena referred to Alex as "a client" instead of a patient?

Colin wants Talia to use her medical skills to cause Paulina a panic attack? Let Paulina spend four minutes with Colin. That drives up my anxiety.

I liked Stefan grabbing Gabi's purse off the desk and walking to meet her in the hall.

I had to laugh when Marlena saw Eric with a cut on his head and the nearly 50-year-old man proceeded to lie to his mom about getting into a fight. Some things never change!

"Not mad, just disappointed" kind of sums up Alex's whole existence.

Okay, for real, how does Harris not know what the Alamanian peacock is? Did Megan's brainwashing keep him from reading the news anytime during the last few years? Did Hope never talk to Ciara during that time?

Eric was a little miffed that Sloan didn't give him the heads-up that E.J. knew, which was fair. However, Eric telling (judging?) Nicole that she should have told E.J. seemed a little rich. That's easy for Eric to say because he got caught with his literal pants down, so he never had to fess up.

Kate says that Roman can pay the ransom, which flat-out seems nuts. Can't Kate pay her own money? I don't know why, but I always assumed Kate was the breadwinner in that relationship.

Steve called Frankie! How are you doing, man? Still in DC?

Talia has a medical degree. But I don't think that automatically gets her access to drugs the way a Costco membership gets you into a store that sells bulk quantities of paper towels. I don't think that's how that works.

I'll never not love Paulina giving Rafe a piece of her mind.

Marlena's neon yellow heels from that flashback were still fierce today.

That's all for this week, DAYS fans! Tony will be back next week to see if Abe will actually give up that secret pancake recipe. Laurisa

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